- Killer's Kiss is an odd mix of what seem like the right ingredients. Told in flashback, Davey Gordon (Jamie Smith), a down-on-his-luck boxer, recalls how he first got to know Gloria Price (Irene Kane). Gloria, a professional dancing partner, lives in the apartment across from Davey, and the two slyly watch one another through the windows. One day, however, Gloria is attacked by her lascivious employer Vincent (Frank Silvera), and Davey rushes to the rescue. The two decide to run off together, but they quickly discover that Vincent isn't going to make it easy for them to leave. Backed by a great jazzy score and beautifully bleak shots of rooftops and boarded-up buildings, this sounds like a fine recipe for a film noir. Unfortunately, things don't quite pan out.
- While Stanley Kubrick's direction and the cinematography in Killer's Kiss are occasionally inspired, most of the film's drama falls rather flat. Part of this is certainly due to the screenplay, which features a whole host of unnecessary flashbacks, even going to far as to deploy the rarely seen double-flashback. The other, more serious, problem is that the film's characters are generally lifeless and uninteresting. Strangely enough, I get the impression that this was Kubrick's intent. The film contains several shots of dolls and various automatons even before the final scene, which is set in a memorable mannequin-filled warehouse. The film's bland characters fit right in with this theme, but I'm not sure why Kubrick felt that they needed to.
- Much of the film's dialogue was voiced over after filming. It's obvious.
